Volunteers & Interns
A heartfelt thank you to our volunteers
To our 296 remarkable volunteers: Your commitment to welcoming New Americans shines in every home you prepared, every class you supported, every coat drive and farmer’s market you organized, and in the many hours you dedicated to our mission in countless ways.
We are grateful that you believe, as we do, that Minnesota grows stronger when we embrace newcomers so they can build secure, meaningful lives here. Your generosity makes our mission possible – thank you.
A-D
Julia Abreu Siufi
Hegner Aguirre
Stephany Aguirre Lopez
Salma Ahmadyar
Branka Alexanian
Claudia Alvarez Valencia
Daniel Anderson
Michelle Anderson
Dallas Apfelbacher
Deborah Baird
Jolene Baker
Emily Baker-Orr
Aleli Balagtas
Kate Bard
Kevin Barton
Damanta Basnet
Cassie Bean
Josh Becerra
Janice Bennett
Scott Betzler
Gelane Beyene
Jenny Borut
Chris Boulton
Beth Brombach
Reid Bucci
Alex Buss
Paul Cady
Martha Cardenas-Navarro
Danna Carrillo
Ethan Carter
Ainsley Casper
Xingdu (Maggie) Chen
Kathy Chinn
Makenna Chinn
Lisa Christman
Cole Conklin
Karen Cooley-Kistler
Laura Cooper
Judy Cotter
Kate Dahlman
Ruth Dalman
Gregory Dana
Tiana Danforth
Elaine De Franco Olson
Eileen Deitcher
Anastasija Demehin
Teresa Devick
Michael Dietrich
Daniel L Dlugose
Cindy Docteur-White
Libby Driscoll Hlavka
Leandro Duarte Idiarte
Megan Duevel Anderson
Marsara Dunbar
Tala Dunn
E-H
Roberta Ebbers
Edward Ehlinger
Judy Ann Ehrlich
Katherine Eklund
Naila El Hilali
Shelby Elliot
Sonia Ellis
Susan Everson
Qian Fang
Ronni Farid
Sherry Faubion
Danielle Ferguson
William Fisch
Sheri Fischer
Anne Fisher
Cory Fleck
Jacqueline Foster
Michele Franchett
Anna Freeman
Nolay Freeman
JoAnn Frekot
Andy Fronek
Liliana Garrido
Patrick Giguere
Brandy Gile
Kitty Gogins
Leina Goto
Allison Greene
Gregory Greif
Gina Gresham
Chloe Griffith
Charles Griggs
Cameron (Cam) Grund
Yessenia Gutierrez
Dorothea Hansmeyer
Cynthia Hanson
Kevin Harding
Tracy Harris
Juliana Harrisking
Amina Hasan
Katie Hatton
McKenzie Hayes
Anna Heetland
Kevin Heetland
Lukas Hembre
Vicki Henderson
Alicia Herman
Chelcee Hew
Donna Hill
Allen Hinderaker
Frida Hinojosa
Pamela Hjelmgren
Gina Holje
Charles Horwitz
Kathy Chinn, Refugee Housing Set-Up Volunteer
“This work is important to me because I want refugees to feel very welcomed to Minnesota when they arrive. It is a very stressful and scary experience needing to resettle into a new country, often not speaking English. I want clients to know right from the moment they open the door to their new home that we are glad they’re here.”
I-L
Maryam Ibrahem
Lynn Ihlenfeldt
Vincent Jabbie Momoh
Deborah Jahn
Cindy Jiban
Medi Jiwani
Shannon Johnson
Tabatha Johnson
Jon Justin
Svitlana Kacharka
Madelyn Katz
Marina Kelly
Paula Kelty
Rachel Kennedy
Sara Kerr
Millie Kim
Meghan Kimmel
Stephan Kistler
Shaylma Klasen
Marily Knieriemen
Yu Ko
Anton Korotchuk
Autumn Kovach
Kate Kuehl
Lurit Lako
Jennifer Larsen
Gregg Larson
Cathy Lee Gierke
Diana Leidahl
Laura Levy
Keith Lewis
Alan Lifson
Evelyn Lillemoe
Anya Lindberg
Elmedina Loga
Nancy Lorimer
Bill Lorimer
Brad Lynch
M-P
Christopher Mahle
Larry Mahoney
Rob Mann
Lorie Marsh
Megan Marvin
Rachel Matthes
Jeri Lu Mattson
Louise Mccarten
Kathryn McGlinch
Kate McGowan
Ryan McKnight
James McManus
Marion McNurlen
Naveen Meagher
May Mee
Brenda Mendez Perez
Mary Miklethun
Britta Milius
Lauren Milne
Chuck Moberg
Sarah Moberg
Theresa Moerbitz
Shawne Monahan
Anne (Marianne) Monfre
Mirtha Montoya
Eliot Morrow
Katie Mortenson
Phoebe Morwood
Faustina Mullen
Samera Muse
Sam Myers
Beth Nelson
Paul Nelson
Joy Nguyen
Janice Nicodemus
John Nipp
Mark Norlander
Mark Nygard
Kevin OBrien
Catarina Oliva Teles
Claire Olson
Julie Olson
Blessing Osibodu
Madlyn Ott
Mali Ottemoeller
Henri Peltier
Stacie Pierpoint
Olive Poehler
Emma Proefrock
Mark Prpich
R-S
Teresa Rakoczy
Nisha K Rana
Melissa Rands
Laura Rapp
Lauran Redemann
Maggie Reil
Janine Reimen
Rebecca Reitan
Julie Reiter
Teresa Rivera-Rios
Dulce Rivera-Zepeda
Brian Robran
Dante Rocío
Susan Roeder
Lisa Rogers
Gladys Rosas
Mina Rossi
Nassim Rossi
Mary Jo Roth
Andrea Rubenstein
James Rubenstein
Julie Ruegemer
Allie Rykken
Anne Rykken
Andy Sackreiter
Lisa Sackreiter
Jenna Sandstrom
Emma Sather
Arlis Sayler
Mary Sayler
Natalie Schibner
Kristen Schim
Kurt Schimpke
Amanda Schloesser
Danita Schmidt
Margie Schmidt
Mark Schumacher
Marianne Schwalen
Laura Scott
Thomas Scott
Aisha Shaikh
Ann Shaw
Sara Shepard
Yane Sima
Jonathan Sime
Sara Skinner
Brad Sleeper
Rachel Snitzer
Brian Sorensen
Vlada Spasic
Diana Spurgeon
Jeanne Steele
Caroline Steury
Makayla Stevenson
Loly Stoffel
Crimson Stone
Lis Sundberg
Hendrik (Rik) Svien
Margaret Swanson
Stephen Swanson
Susan Marie Swanson
T-Z
Haimanot Tadesse
David Talarico
Sarah Tautin
Anita Terry
Bemnet Tessema
Troy Thielen
Peter Thompson
Dawn Uremovich
Jenna Urick
Maddie Valentyn
James Van Valkenburg
Tiffany Vang
Ann Vermeer
Barry Vermeer
Ali Vincent
Anthony Wallace
John Ward
Madeline Warren
Trevor Warzecha
Shelley Weiss
Kendra Whinnery
Kevin Whinnery
Ben Whitney
Kathleen Widmer
Anja Wiesner
Christina Wilson
Earl Wilson
Alex Wojnicki
Abraham Woldeslassie
Linda Wong
Anny Xiong
Maidor Xiong
Scarlett Xiong
Renu Yadav
Houshee Yang
Edwin Zhanay
Aaron Zivsak
Rachel Zubrzycki
Featured Client Stories
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I told [my son], ‘You want to go anywhere in this world? Focus. You have to educate yourself.’ My mom used to tell me ‘Education is a key of life.’
Emmy
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When you’re running a business, you’re not helping just one individual, you’re helping many more people. You’re helping a community.
Manoj
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FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
We continue providing the critical core services we have developed over the years that lead to stability and a place for New Americans to call home.
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OUR 2024 IMPACT
With Institute growth came an increased capacity to offer quality services and classes to more New Americans. As a result, we impacted the lives of 5,709 clients.
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OUR DONORS
We’re inspired by our community of donors. In 2024, this network showed its commitment to standing by New Americans as they journey toward stability and success.
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Download Report (PDF)
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2024 Annual Report
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About Us
Founded in 1919, the International Institute of Minnesota (IIMN) offers New Americans quality services that support their journey to stability and success. Our comprehensive offerings include refugee resettlement, English education, workforce and leadership development, college preparation and immigration and citizenship assistance. We are a diverse team of knowledgeable and encouraging advocates, ready to welcome refugees and immigrants. IIMN helps New Americans rebuild their lives while pursuing their personal and professional goals.
